Page 37 of Captive Hybrid

Strong hands hold me down, pinning my wrists to the bed, slightly tangled in the sheets.

I gasp, eyes snapping wide. His brown eyes meet mine. ‘Aidan?’ I breathe. He positions his knees so that I can’t use my legs. ‘What are you doing?’

He bares his teeth. ‘What she wants.’ His gaze slides to the left.

Copper eyes shine in the gloom as Evelyn pounces, slightly shifting the bed. She licks her lips. ‘Part witch, part fae.’ She glances at Aidan. ‘This should be delicious.’

I don’t even have time to scream as she leans forward, clamping her fangs into my neck with a horrible, sharp pain.

I wake up with a scream, drenched in sweat, panting. My head darts around the room. I’m alone. Holy shit. I set my hands to my chest as my heart gallops wildly.

Zenna?Mordecai’s alarmed voice rings in my mind, bringing a headache. Are you okay?

An urgent knock sounds on the door. ‘Hey, we heard a scream. You okay?’ Aidan’s voice.

I slide back in the bed, shoulder blades banging on the headboard, folding my knees up to my chest, suddenly wishing I had a weapon. I glance around. There’s not even a mug to throw.

It was a bad dream,I tell Mordecai. I don’t know if I’m safe here. A stupid thing to say, really. I’m being held captive by vampires.

Are you in danger now?

‘Zenna?’ Aidan opens the door. Concern pinches his brows. ‘Hey. What happened?’ His voice is soft, soothing. ‘Can I come in?’

I catch those copper eyes behind him as I shake my head.

Evelyn waits just beyond Aidan, slightly shorter than her… lover. Her food.

I’m not sure.I wrap the covers around me. Aidan’s gaze slides over me. ‘Did something happen?’ He notes the sweat on my brow, the alarm in my eyes.

Evelyn stands on her toes, trying to see beyond Aidan. Aidan exchanges a glance with her, slightly shaking his head. Evelyn leans closer. ‘Her heart is racing,’ she murmurs.

Aidan holds up a hand to his vampire, then turns to me. ‘Zenna, did you have a nightmare?’ He takes a small step into the room.

‘Go away,’ I bark, voice trembling.

A flash of hurt dances in his eyes. ‘Zenna, is it me or Evelyn you’re worried about?’

I lower my gaze. Aidan has been nothing but kind to me, but he’d held me down in the dream for his vampire to eat. Which, now that I think about it is silly. She wouldn’t need him to do that. Evelyn is much stronger. I shake myself a little, trying to push the fear away.

‘I just need some space. I need fresh air.’ I run a hand through my damp hair. After only a week held captive underground, and I’m already starting to forget how sunlight feels on my skin. ‘I want to be outside.’ I take a deep breath in, but the air feels stale.

Aidan offers a look of sympathy. ‘I get it. It took me ages to get used to being down here.’

‘You’re not a captive though, are you?’ I snap. The cloying images of my nightmares hang around my mind like thick cobwebs.

Aidan leans back and whispers something to Evelyn, who nods, and disappears deeper into the apartment. Aidan leans against the doorframe. At least he’s respecting the boundary. He inhales deeply, setting his arms over his chest. ‘If I could walk you out of here, I would.’

I blink up at him.

‘I mean it. No one deserves to be held against their will, and I swear I wish there was something I could do about it.’

Zenna, everything okay?Mordecai’s tight voice pierces my mind.

Under the guise of the nightmare, I clutch my head. Yeah, am okay. The witch doesn’t seem like he’s about to attack me. I rub my temples. ‘But you can’t. Right?’

Aidan rubs a hand over his hair. ‘Nah. I can’t. But I can put in a request for a short-term visit to the ground. I’m pretty sure it won’t get approved, but you never know.’

I bark a laugh. ‘What, you’re going to get me out on furlough?’ I clench my teeth, anger boiling in my stomach. ‘Why did you even bother to check on me when you heard me wake?’ I whip the covers back, determined to wash the sweat and nightmares off my skin. ‘I don’t even want to know what awful things you two were doing in Evelyn’s room.’

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